Grand Master: Nomination, Vote, and Ratification

Grand Master: Nomination, Vote, and Ratification

02/09/2018,
9:21 PM,
Grand Master - Dark Council

Dark Brotherhood,

The updated Covenant of the Dark Brotherhood included a new section that implemented term limits on acting Grand Masters. Article 4.03 states a single term of a Grand Master is limited to thirty-six months. I reach 36 months in roughly two weeks on 23 February 2019.

Today, I am officially beginning the transition by nominating Prophet Telaris "Mav" Cantor to the Electorate to succeed me as Grand Master. This nomination will begin a two week process that will allow Mav to outline his future plans, allow our membership to engage him with questions, and then conduct a vote to ratify Mav's nomination. If ratified, Mav will assume the duties of Grand Master on 24 February 2018.

I, like the Grand Masters that proceeded me, take the leadership of this club extremely seriously. To state that Mav has my utmost confidence would be an understatement. Mav is without an absolute doubt, the right person, at the right time, to take our club on to bigger and better things. He will be our first "new" Grand Master since Muz was promoted to GM in February of 2009!

Please see the following relevant sections of our Covenant that detail the Grand Master Nomination, Vote, and Ratification process. If you have any questions on this matter, please email the Justicar and myself.

Section 4.02 Appointment of the Grand Master

(a) Eligibility - The Electorate is charged with verifying the adequacy of candidates for the position of Grand Master. No member is eligible to be Grand Master who has (1) been previously removed from the position of Grand Master; or (2) is not permitted to serve in accordance with the term limits set forth in this Article.

(b) Nomination, Initial Vote, and Ratification – A Grand Master that announces his resignation will remain in the position until a new Grand Master is installed. Upon announcing his resignation, the Grand Master may nominate to the Electorate a member to succeed him as the Grand Master. The Electorate will then vote to ratify the nominee by a three-fourths majority. Upon ratification, the nominee will be submitted to the Star Chamber for approval. For the purposes of appointing a Grand Master, the Electorate includes the retiring Grand Master and, if the nominated member is a member of the Electorate, the nominated member. Nothing in this provision prevents any member from stating their desire to be considered for Grand Master during the initial vote; that is, the Electorate is permitted to compare the nominee to other options for Grand Master, including members that have declared their desire to be Grand Master. Such declarations may be made to the Justicar, who will timely inform the Electorate of the interest.

(c) Secondary Election - If the Electorate does not ratify the initial nominee or if the retiring Grand Master does not submit a nomination within 48-hours of announcing his resignation, the Justicar will hold an election for the position of Grand Master using the following procedures:

(i) If the Justicar is candidate for the position or the position of Justicar is vacant, the Star Chamber will conduct the election.
(ii) The Justicar will accept nominations from any member of the Brotherhood. All nominations must be accepted by the nominee and seconded by a member of the Electorate.
(iii) The Electorate will vote to name the next Grand Master. A majority of votes must be obtained to become Grand Master. If no member gains a majority, the candidate with the lowest vote count will be removed and a vote will be held on the remaining candidates. This will be repeated until a majority is gained by a candidate. Once a candidate is so chosen, his name will be submitted to the Star Chamber for approval.

(d) Star Chamber Approval - The Star Chamber must approve of the new Grand Master. This approval will be assumed unless the Star Chamber votes to veto the nomination within 72 hours of the completion of the election. If a nominee is vetoed by the Star Chamber, another election will be held without the formerly approved candidate.

I look forward to this process and encourage members with any questions for me to direct them to your Consul for submission, as they are currently collecting/writing questions for me to address. I will shortly release a public set of answers to the questions I have received so far, which I will updated in batches over the next couple of weeks. Moreover, I will lay out my plans in a more broad vision on Sunday. Should you have a question you would rather ask me directly, or that you would prefer to be kept private, please do not hesitate to reach out to me on Telegram or by email.

I have known Mav either indirectly (seeing how he interacted with others) or directly (as a leader) for a number of years. Nearly 15 or more now. I can speak about him with experience. After the Split, when Mav took it on himself to engage other Clubs, and help coordinate and run the ICTE, he was carrying an enormous burden for the benefit of the Club. I've seen him as RHoJ and LHoJ both. He takes the health and longevity of the Club and its members very sincerely, very seriously. During the closure of Tarentum, in the weeks building up to that depressing decision, the happiness and concerns of all of Tarentum's members were on the front of his mind.

There are times in the past that Mav and I have disagreed on things. I have never experienced an issue with Mav where (even in disagreement) he disrespected my feelings and position. Often, those who disagree with him (if respectfully) give him time to consider the reasons, and Mav takes it all very seriously.

This is a good choice in leadership, guys. And beyond that, this is a good time for the Brotherhood. We're moving forward with leadership. Sarin has had a lot of work to do, but anointing a new Grand Master means that the Star Chamber believes in someone else to hold the reins. It's an exciting time. And, while Mav has been in pretty much any position (Clan and DC), make sure to give him your support.